Bachelor of DesignCREATIVE DIRECTION & STYLING

The Bachelor of Design, Creative Direction & Styling at Whitehouse Institute of Design is a degree built for people who want to be at the forefront of the fashion, design and media industries. You develop the creative and commercial skills to style, direct and produce visual stories across fashion, beauty, food, events and interiors, underpinned by strong foundations in graphic design, photography and visual storytelling.

You'll learn fashion, beauty, food, personal, event and interior styling, photography and image direction, magazine and editorial, and visual merchandising and brand strategy. The Whitehouse degree also covers PR, communications and social media, content creation and graphic design, colour, print and the elements and principles of design, plus business skills such as copywriting, PR management, business planning, and time and budget management.

Studied full-time, the Bachelor of Design, Creative Direction & Styling takes two years (accelerated), delivered across six trimesters with five subjects each trimester. The course is also offered part-time. To graduate you complete 18 core subjects and 12 specialisation subjects, totalling 288 credit points.

The Bachelor of Design, Creative Direction & Styling is delivered on campus at Whitehouse's Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane campuses. There are three intakes each year, in February, June and September, and the next intake is February 2027. Applications are open year-round and typically open 6 to 12 months before an intake begins, so applying early helps you secure your preferred campus and start date.

You'll complete six industry-focused projects in the Styling Workshop subjects, one each trimester, each with a client, a concept and an industry challenge to solve. They are Luxury Brand Storytelling & Visual Merchandising (reimagining Hermès window displays), Visual Communication & Brand Content, Mish-Mash Clash Magazine Editorials, Food Styling & Design for Photography, Events, Pop-Ups & Identity, and a Signature Graduate Project presented at the Whitehouse Graduate Exhibition and Fashion Runway.

Yes. You gain hands-on experience styling and directing in professional photography studios and design workshops, with 1,728 contact hours (20+ hours a week) of training across the degree, and work on real industry-style briefs, sourcing through the prop houses, suppliers, showrooms and agencies that professionals rely on. Every Whitehouse student also gets free access to the full Adobe Creative Cloud suite (Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign and Illustrator), and Creative Direction & Styling students use trend-forecasting services, a specialist design library and, at the Sydney campus, the Design Collection, which includes original pieces from Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Sacai.

Graduates of the Whitehouse Bachelor of Design, Creative Direction & Styling go on to work as stylists, creative directors, art directors, event stylists and wedding stylists, as well as fashion editors, style journalists, magazine or publication editors and blog directors. Other paths include visual merchandiser, fashion buyer, trend forecaster, brand strategist, photographer, content creator, digital imaging specialist and illustrator.

No ATAR required. All Whitehouse courses have no ATAR requirement, as an ATAR does not assess how well a student will succeed creatively. Instead, you need to have completed Year 12 or equivalent, attend a Design Meeting and provide a portfolio, and international students also need a minimum level of English language skills and a valid, appropriate visa for studying in Australia.

A creative portfolio is a selection of your best work that demonstrates your creative potential, usually 4 to 6 examples in mediums such as illustration, digital design, photography, film, creative writing, textile design or fine art. Whitehouse uses it to assess your potential for success in the Bachelor of Design, looking for an understanding of design, a connection with the current design industry, innovative creative thinking, a desire to learn and the ability to develop ideas independently.

If you don't have a creative portfolio, or have questions about yours, call Whitehouse on 1300 551 433 or email study@whitehouse-design.edu.au. Whitehouse runs short workshops throughout the year that help students and applicants develop their portfolio.

Yes. The Digital Design subjects are best described as a graphic design course within your degree, teaching core graphic design principles and skills in the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, including Photoshop, Lightroom and InDesign. You apply these skills directly to your styling and creative direction projects, across photography, editorial layout, digital imaging and portfolio creation for both print and digital.

In 2026 the trimester tuition fee for full-time study is $14,610, with an indicative average unit fee of $2,922 (based on 5 units), and fees exclude course materials and technical kits. All Whitehouse Design courses are FEE-HELP eligible for domestic students, so if you're eligible there's no upfront payment for tuition fees, and Whitehouse charges no application fee.

FEE-HELP limits apply. Check the latest limits and eligibility on the Australian Government's StudyAssist website.

Recommended Year 11 and 12 subjects include Design & Technology, Visual Arts, Visual Communication, Textiles & Design, and Modern History or Ancient History, but Whitehouse has no compulsory prerequisite subjects. Whitehouse also offers the Certificate III in Design Fundamentals (VET for Secondary School Students), which you can take in Year 10, 11 or 12 and which gives graduates direct entry into the Bachelor of Design.

You apply for the Bachelor of Design, Creative Direction & Styling directly through the Whitehouse Institute of Design website, and there is no application fee. If you'd like to talk it through first, you can meet with the admissions team, book a campus tour, call 1300 551 433 or email study@whitehouse-design.edu.au.

Yes. If you've received an offer of enrolment from Whitehouse but aren't quite ready to start, you can defer to the next intake without reapplying, as long as you do so before the census date.

Yes. Whitehouse may award credit for single subjects based on accredited study at another provider and/or relevant industry experience, and Advanced Standing may be awarded if you've completed a course in a similar field, allowing direct entry into study period two, three or four and potentially shortening your degree. Graduates of the Whitehouse Diploma of Design or Associate Degree of Design in Creative Direction & Styling continue into the Bachelor with full credit for their completed trimesters, and you can discuss your options with Admissions or at your Design Meeting.

The Bachelor of Design, Creative Direction & Styling is an AQF Level 7 qualification, the level for bachelor degrees under the Australian Qualifications Framework. It is a higher education award delivered by Whitehouse Institute of Design and is FEE-HELP approved.